Posts Tagged ‘snapshot on crime’
Posted on: August 20th, 2013 by Smart on Crime
In the past two years there has been a sharp increase in both the number of people using emergency shelters and the number of shelter bed nights, which means more people are using shelters and they are staying longer. When I look at this homelessness statistics presented by WRCPC’s Snapshot on Crime, I experience a range of reactions.
I am angry because having people homeless in Canada is just poor social policy. Studies have quantified that the costs of having people homeless are more than the cost of having people housed with adequate supports. The Real Costs of Homelessness illustrates this point exactly.
The costs of hospitalization or incarceration far surpass the amount of money needed to house people in the community. People who are homeless are admitted to hospitals five times more often than their housed counterparts and stay longer than other low income patients. When adequately housed, an individual’s use of these services decreases.
Each level of government is contributing dollars and policy toward ending homelessness. In the new Federal Budget, 5 year funding was announced for two programs- one that provides supports for people experiencing homelessness and another that provides capital funding for new affordable housing. While these announcements are gratefully received, there is not enough funding attached to get serious about ending homelessness. There is still no Federal Housing strategy. Canada is the only G8 country without such a policy.
The Ontario government now requires each municipality to have a homelessness and housing plan. They have recently amalgamated a number of funding programs which allows municipalities to create responses to local needs. This is all good. However, there was also a decrease in funding and again while all money helps, it is not enough to really solve the problem.
Locally, the Region of Waterloo has provided funding that exceeds the provincial average for supports to those who are experiencing housing issues. However, as their funding base is the smallest, realistically there are limits to their ability to pay for an end to homelessness.
I am angry because we know about the problem and we know how to fix it. What we lack is political will on the part of government and a prioritization of this issue by the general public. As a result, people in our community continue to live in substandard, unaffordable and inadequate housing.
Like many things, my personal viewpoint has been impacted over years of having conversations with people who are living the experience. For me it is no longer a theoretical issue. It is about real people in Waterloo Region who are struggling to have a place to live. As I think about all of the people I have met over the years, the increasing number of shelter users leaves me feeling sad. Canadian comedian Rick Mercer has a rant on homelessness where he talks about how no one aspires to have “homeless” be their career. When I look at some of the people with the most challenging difficulties, I think about how, at one stage, this person was someone’s child. Hopefully, someone held that child and had hopes and dreams for them. Never would the goal have been homelessness. I have seen how poverty and homelessness wears people down. Mental health and addictions start or become exacerbated. Hope and determination are often victims of this reality as well.
Dr. Samantha Nutt, founder of War Child Canada describes her experiences in international development work as going from the inexperienced naïve belief that she could really make a difference, to feeling defeated in the face of such overwhelming obstacles and situations and then beginning a journey to discover what it was she could actually do. This is not unlike my journey through working with people who are experiencing homelessness and the systems that respond to this issue. I don’t have either the financial means to pay for affordable housing or the skills to build it. However, I can talk and write about the issues. I can start conversations. I can read the research, stay up to date and keep learning. I can take the time to talk with people who are experiencing homelessness to learn more about their journey, what they want and need and to help develop a way to meet those needs.
This is not a battle that I am waging on my own. Every day dedicated, bright, compassion people work in a range of services from street outreach, shelters, housing help, specialized housing programs, legal services, support services, subsidized and supportive housing, all with the aim creating a more just and inclusive society where everyone matters. They are joined by a mountain of community volunteers who show up and share their gifts and talents.
When I look at the shelter usage stats I also feel determined. I feel part of a sector where I join in solidarity with people experiencing homelessness and many community members who together stand up to say – people who are homeless matter. We collectively are committed to ending homelessness in Waterloo Region. This is a lofty goal, which will take much persistence and hard work, but with the determination and skills of this community, I believe it is possible.
Author: Lynn Macaulay is the staff person with the Homelessness and Housing Umbrella Group (HHUG), a network of people concerned about homelessness and affordable housing in Waterloo Region. She lives in Waterloo with her two cats, Simon and Isabella and enjoys reading mystery novels.
Find more community responses from Lynn’s colleagues in Waterloo Region, who also work to reduce homelessness:
Posted on: August 18th, 2013 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
Individuals facing homelessness are more likely to become victims of crime and/or engage in criminal activity than individuals with stable housing. If charged with a criminal offence homeless individuals are typically charged with minor property crimes and drug offences. It is fair to say that their vulnerability for victimization is of most concern in this context.
The Statistics
Source Data: Homelessness & Housing Umbrella Group, HHUG Report Card (Released Annually)
The Story Behind the Numbers
The number of individuals accessing emergency shelters rose 10% and the number of emergency shelter nights rose by 17% in 2011. These are significant increases after two years of relative stability. These dramatic increases are cause for concern and warrant on-going attention. Homelessness can also be seen as an extreme manifestation of poverty and form of community exclusion. These factors impact quality of life and are affecting greater numbers of people in Waterloo Region.
Read the Community Responses
Posted on: July 25th, 2013 by Smart on Crime
If youth in the labour market cannot find employment, they find it increasingly difficult to become established in the “adult” world. They have done nothing wrong. They have done what they were told to do and were supposed to do yet cannot find that suitable connection to the workforce. This impacts their confidence and their ability to “fit in”. Many have chosen to give up and have simply walked away from the labour market making it even harder to find their “place” in the world. This results in frustration and anger and they feel neglected.
We also tend to forget that even very well educated young people are having a tough time finding suitable employment. Many have studied for degrees or diplomas in subjects which are not directly relevant to the type of work they would like to do or the types of jobs they are applying for. This leads to major under-employment which again impacts that ability to become established. It’s difficult to buy a car or rent an apartment when you have student loans to pay back and are only earning minimum wage.
In one case I am familiar with, a young man in his mid-late 20s was finally offered a job in another city at the level he had studied for however, being in debt, he was unable to move immediately. His parents had to support him for several weeks by paying for hotels or renting vehicles so he could get back and forward to his new job and until he could become established. Had he not been able to access that support, his career would have been placed back in the same old holding pattern as before.
This scenario is being played out in households across Ontario and many young people are simply unable to take that leap due to lack of resources or supports and this will impact the youth unemployment rates for the foreseeable future. We are currently seeing young people in their late 20s to mid 30s recognizing that only by going back to school will they get specific skills that will lead them to a career even though they already have a degree but are working in hospitality or service type jobs. That’s fine if you can afford it but many cannot.
On the positive side, both the federal and provincial governments are keenly aware that well educated, and under-employed, young people are struggling and a number of programs and initiatives are either in the works or currently under consideration to support them. Other recent new funding has also been announced which will provide more employment assistance to young people across the board.
In my day to day work I continue to encourage students, and perhaps more importantly their parents and teachers, to put more emphasis on ensuring that the education path they choose will actually match the opportunities available in the local labour market. It is my hope that emphasizing good planning now may help these young people avoid the under-employment trap in the future.
Author: Carol Simpson is the Executive Director of the Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin. Carol has held that position for the past 12 years. In her role at the Board, Carol likes to think outside the box and look at new and innovative ways in which the community can work together to address workforce development challenges including youth employment. For more on the Workforce Planning Board and youth related activities visit www.workforceplanningboard.com
Posted on: July 24th, 2013 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
A 2010 report, “People Without Jobs. Jobs Without People”, highlights concerning trends in the Ontario labour market; noting that we will have both a labour and skills storage by 2031. It also highlights the increased levels of unemployment experienced by the province in the wake of the 2008 recession.
But Waterloo Region’s unemployment rate is improving, right? The information presented in “A Snapshot in Time: The Root Causes of Crime in Waterloo Region” indeed shows the improvement we are observing in Waterloo Region’s labour market (p.9). However, the overall unemployment rate masks some concerning trends for specific segments of our workforce. Unemployment for youth, new Canadians, displaced manufacturing workers, and older workers has remained high despite the overall improvement in local economic conditions.
These structural changes present real challenges to the economic and social challenges our community will face over the next twenty years, including:
- Youth that experience delays in starting careers, and the associated reduction in potential lifetime earnings. As well as the pressure many employers will face when there are insufficient qualified people to fill roles as baby boomers retire.
- New Canadians that migrate to Ontario with professional educations and experiences, who are unable to find work commensurate with their qualifications. As well as employers that cannot access the diverse skilled labour needed to make their businesses globally competitive.
- Displaced manufacturing workers that have not been afforded the continuous learning opportunities in previous jobs and find their skills out-of-date. As well as employers that cannot access their maturity, experience, and transferable skills.
- Experienced Workers (those who are 55+) that find themselves without the skills to compete with a new highly educated workforce and find retirement savings in jeopardy, as well as employers that lose access to candidates that still have ten years of work left, and maturity and skill to mentor the next generation of worker.
As can be seen, these structural changes present potential long term impacts on our local economy and social support structures. With these new challenges come the potential to see increased: poverty, mental health challenges, heath impacts, and as outlined in “The Root Causes of Crime in Waterloo” – an increase in crime.
While these challenges can seem overwhelming, there are many local organizations implementing innovative ways of addressing these employment challenges. The following programs are examples of the specific programs Lutherwood has been working with in Waterloo Region and Guelph:
- Transitioning In New Times: Funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Lutherwood has been operating a demand-side focused employment program. The intent of the program is to more effectively bridge the gap between people experiencing increased unemployment and employers struggling to find qualified candidates for open positions. The program develops training to address specific industry needs, and work to support candidates into these roles. The program has seen meaningful success, and there are provincial replication efforts underway.
- Mentorship for Internationally Trained Professionals: Recently Lutherwood began a Mentorship program for Internally Trained Professionals in the Guelph area, a similar program is run by the YMCA in Waterloo Region. The intent of the program is to connect professional newcomers with mentors in their field of expertise, giving them connection to establish themselves in careers commensurate with their education and experience. A recent Maytree Foundation report shows that mentorship significantly increases entry into professional careers for new comers.
- Targeted Initiative for Older Workers (TIOW): Through this program for experienced workers (those that are older than 55) individuals get employment skill development, skills upgrading, employment coaching, and structured work placements. Through this targeted program these workers are able to upgrade and refresh bring valuable experience, maturity, and skill to employers.
While each of these programs takes a different approach to addressing persistent unemployment in our community, one thing is constant; the intervention is scoped to the needs of the population being served. This approach ensures the effectiveness of the program to address specific needs. Over the next several years it will be important that we continue to seek new approaches to address unemployment being experienced by youth, experienced workers, new Canadians, and those displaced from the manufacturing sector. These approaches should be targeted to the populations being served, should engage each level of government and most importantly engage area employers.
Author: Aaron Stauch is a Program Manager at Lutherwood with experience in both the employment and mental health sectors.
Read also:
Posted on: July 23rd, 2013 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
Over the next ten weeks stay tuned here to the blog discussion on The Root Causes of Crime in Waterloo Region where community leaders, community residents and leading experts across Waterloo Region weigh in on the root causes of crime outlined in the report.
Unemployment Rates & the Relationship to Crime
The relationship between unemployment and property crime is well established in academic literature. Generally a 1% drop in unemployment rates leads to approximately a 1% drop in property crime. The impact on property crime rates is believed to be more pronounced when unemployment is high for male youth. Violent crime and unemployment on their own tend to be unrelated. However, when high levels of unemployment are combined with high levels of alcohol consumption it is believed to cause an increase in the homicide rate.
The Statistics
Source Data: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey: CANSIM Table 1095304 (Released Annually)
The Story Behind the Numbers
The 2011 decrease in unemployment in the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo CMA echoes a trend that was seen in the rest of Canada.The decrease in unemployment is directly related to a slowly rebounding economy.Youth unemployment improved in 2011 but not to the same degree as unemployment generally.High youth unemployment combined with a growing male population raises some concerns for the local crime rate.
Read the Community Responses
Posted on: July 16th, 2013 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
Over the next ten weeks stay tuned here to the blog discussion on The Root Causes of Crime in Waterloo Region where community leaders, community residents and leading experts across Waterloo Region weigh in on the root causes of crime outlined in the report.
Children in Care
Children in the child welfare system tend to share histories of significant trauma. Children in the child welfare system are also at higher risk of involvement with the criminal justice system. The number of children in care within Waterloo Region therefore is a measure of the number of children with significant risk factors as well as a measure of risk for future criminal justice system involvement.
The Statistics
Source Data: Annual Report, Family and Children’s Services of the Waterloo Region, 2012
Story Behind the Numbers
The number of children in Waterloo Region in the residential care of Family and Children’s Service’s of the Waterloo Region increased by 19% from 2011 to 2012, while days of paid care increased by only 5%. This demonstrates a significant increase in children placed in care but only a small increase in days in care. This means most of the increase in children in care were short term stays in care. This one year increase warrants an on-going examination to see if a trend emerges or if it is a temporary impact of economic or other challenges facing the region.
Read the Community Responses
Posted on: July 16th, 2013 by Smart on Crime
According to the 2012 report From One System to Another: Crossover Children in Waterloo Region, “Children living in the care of the child welfare system have a higher likelihood of justice system involvement in comparison to children living with their biological parents” (WRCPC, pg.2). Children who enter out-of-home care often come from disadvantaged families and have been subjected to maltreatment and neglect. The impact of trauma experienced from abuse, neglect, and being removed from their family home can affect a child’s cognitive functioning and may also result in challenging behaviors that jeopardize their development (Reid & Dudding, 2006; Stone, 2007; Trout et al., 2008). As a result youth-in-care are often at higher risk of:
- Involvement in the youth justice system
- Homelessness
- Substance use
- Becoming parents earlier
- Living in poverty
- Using social assistance
- Experience emotional and behavioural difficulties
Four out of ten young people in care have a parent who was a client of the child welfare system as a child. (Leschied et al. London Study, 2003)
Family and Children’s Services of Waterloo Region (FCS) is keenly aware of these research results and is working hard to help improve outcomes for children and youth in care. Admitting a child into care is always a last resort for workers, however when a child is not able to remain safely in their own home, FCS must provide a safe alternative. One of our FCS key service priorities is to ensure that all children have the permanent support of a safe, loving and nurturing family (preferably their own family) in which they can grow and develop towards successful adulthood.
Children in care numbers remained fairly consistent with some modest increases and decreases between the years 2007/08 to 2010/11. However, in the year 2011/12 the agency experienced a significant increase in children in care numbers – 6% over the previous year. As part of a regular review of our service trends, we examined the increase in child admissions to care in 2011/12. Despite the increase, many of these admissions were for short period of time (i.e. five days or less). The increased number of children in care was driven by a number of factors. The economic downturn is felt to have contributed to an increase in referrals and protection applications. The agency also experienced an increase in parents abandoning their children to society care due to lack of resources in the community – particularly resources related to respite services for teens and children with complex developmental/medical needs. In 2011/12 there was also a lack of regional subsidized day care spaces in the community – daycare is often viewed as a protective factor for young vulnerable children who are more visible in the community when they regularly attend daycare.
Agency and Provincial Response to Youth in Care Outcomes
For those children who do require out of home care, Family and Children’s Services works hard to ensure that these children have every opportunity to develop to their full potential. Each child in care has an individual plan developed by the youth, the family, the worker, and key supports in the youth’s life. The plan of care focuses on improving a child/youth’s well-being and resilience. Family and Children’s Services of the Waterloo Region, along with other CAS’s across the province, use The Ontario Looking after Children (OnLAC) model to help improve the outcomes for children placed in out of home care. A key focus of OnLAC is the assessment, documentation and tracking of a child’s developmental progress through an annual assessment (AAR-C2: Flynn, Ghazal, & Legault, 2006).
In addition to planning for individual children, the data gathered through OnLAC is useful at the agency and provincial level to inform service planning on many different levels. Review of data by staff, foster parents and community partners provides assistance with evaluation and future planning and helps raise awareness and increases the attention given to improving outcomes for children in care.
Prevention of Adolescent Admissions
FCS is attempting to work collaboratively with our community partners to reduce adolescent admissions to care. While we recognize the stress that many parents face when dealing with challenging teens, admission to care is rarely the best answer. There are numerous unintended consequences of admitting adolescents to care. Once admitted, youth are;
- Less likely to return home to their family
- Less likely to successfully work through family issues
In addition, having an adolescent youth in care may lead to decreased feelings of competence and confidence for the parents and may lead to decreased feelings of safety and security for youth.
What Can be done by the Community?
- When for whatever reason, parents/caregivers of youth do not feel capable of responding to the youth’s behaviour the caregivers turn to the larger systems to help contain that behaviour
- The larger systems available to them are education, child welfare, youth justice
- Those systems need to be able to come together in a way that helps support the family in responding to the youth’s distress, rather than taking a punitive stance or removing the youth from their (wider) system of support
- It is important for these systems to respond from a trauma and attachment informed lens (i.e look to what is underneath the behaviour, help parents understand the impact of trauma and disrupted attachments in their own lives). This will guide the systems in helping the family to maintain the youth
- Interventions need to be aimed at helping the family to return to a place of emotional and physical safety
Jill Stoddart is the Senior Manager of Innovation, Research and Development at Family and Children’s Services of the Waterloo Region. Jill has a Master’s degree in Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University and is currently engaged in her Doctoral studies. Jill has spent the last 25 years in the Waterloo Region working with children and families in Developmental Services, Mental Health and Child Welfare.
Posted on: July 11th, 2013 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
Over the next ten weeks stay tuned here to the blog discussion on The Root Causes of Crime in Waterloo Region where community leaders, community residents and leading experts across Waterloo Region weigh in on the root causes of crime outlined in the report.
Owner Occupied Homes
Individuals living in owner occupied homes are less transitory than renters. Homeowners’ financial interests also encourage them to support positive neighbourhood interactions. Home ownership also represents a Canadian value because it is seen to alleviate real and/or perceived disadvantages for individuals. For these reasons higher levels of home ownership is a protective factor against crime in a community.
The Statistics
Source Data: Statistics Canada, Census (Released Every Five Years)
Story Behind the Numbers
Home ownership in the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo CMA increased from 2001 to 2006. This increase in home ownership echoes the national trend which saw a similar increase over this time period. This is a positive trend for Waterloo Region as it indicates increased stability within the population.
Read the Community Responses
Posted on: July 11th, 2013 by Smart on Crime
A couple of years ago, my wife, two teenage daughters and I went to New York City for a few days of sightseeing. New York is a great city and we had a wonderful time visiting places like the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, several museums, and the Empire State Building. We saw Broadway shows and we visited the Blue Note, a famous jazz club from the 1950’s. We wandered around on the sidewalks of midtown Manhattan and Times Square.
There was a time, in the 1970’s and 80’s that the trip would not have been possible. New York was shabby, Times Square was seedy and the whole city was a dirty and dangerous place.
Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton are credited with cleaning up the city using a program dubbed the “broken windows theory”. The main notion of the broken windows theory is that small crimes can make way for larger crimes. If the “petty” criminals are often overlooked and given space to do what they want, then their level of criminality might escalate from petty crimes to more serious offenses. The mayor and police commissioner rolled out a “zero-tolerance” policy which lead to the rates of both petty and serious crime falling suddenly and significantly, and continuing to drop for the following ten years.
Today, the crime rate is way down, not just in New York City, but in Kitchener-Waterloo too. It has been decreasing steadily for more than a decade. Addressing petty crime and other changes in the way we police might have a lot to do with it.
At the same time, the overall rate of homeownership in Canada is up. It has been increasing since the 1970’s. In 1970, 60.3% of Canadians owned their own homes. In 2006 (the most recent census), 68.9% of Canadians owned their own homes. More notably, is that the rate of homeownership among 20 – 34 year olds is up from 36.1% in 1970 to 46% in 2006.
Is there a co-relationship between home ownership and crime? Is crime down because homeownership is up?
I think so.
By the time most people reach their mid to late 20’s, most everyone wants to settle down, get married and start family. With that, usually comes buying a first home. Homeownership contributes to a vibrant, dynamic, and healthy community. Homeownership is the foundation for stable and safe neighbourhoods.
If people see litter they are more likely to litter.
Similar to Mayor Giuliani’s broken window theory, the pride of homeownership has an intangible benefit that encourages homeowners to take care of their properties. Neighbourhoods with higher rates of homeownership are more stable, better maintained and most importantly safer.
Furthermore, neighbours influence each other. When one neighbour maintains his home by doing some landscaping or outside improvements, other neighbours follow suit. Homeowners, by nature, care about their homes and their neighbourhoods. Vibrant communities are formed through strong neighbourhoods.
As a real estate agent, I know the various neighbourhoods in Kitchener-Waterloo. There are some great neighbourhoods and there are some where I would dissuade a client from buying a home.
Neighbourhoods reveal themselves through their traffic patterns, crime rates, school rankings, ambiance, noise and smell, walkability, shops, parks, amenities, and general upkeep. These factors, of course are interrelated. You can learn a lot about neighbourhoods simply by spending some time in them. I advise my clients to do this and to take notice of the curb appeal of the houses, the speed of the traffic, the friendliness of the people, the noise and smell, whether the recycle boxes have been brought in a day after garbage day, if there are any shopping carts or abandoned furniture on the boulevard… It’s not rocket science. It’s common sense. I also advise my clients to check out the school rankings, the police incidence reports and in some cases the city planning department. Neighbourhoods are not equal. Choosing a good neighbourhood is more important than finding a great house.
All in all, we are trending well in Kitchener-Waterloo. Crime is down. Home ownership is up. Neighbourhoods that were considered unsafe and decaying fifteen years ago are transforming into sought after and vibrant places to live. There is a trend, not only in Kitchener-Waterloo, but across North America, for urban living – people are moving back into the core. New York City’s transformation was quick and well publicized. Kitchener-Waterloo’s transformation has happened and is continuing to happen right before our eyes.
Data Sources:
Statistics Canada, Canada Yearbook 2011. Families, households and housing.
Statistics Canada, Canada Yearbook 2011. Home ownership rates by age group, all household.
Broken Windows Theory
Author: Keith helps homebuyers understand homes, schools and neighbourhoods in Kitchener-Waterloo. He is an author, an award-winning realtor and an agent of change. On Twitter @kdmarshall. Online at keithmarshall.ca and 365-kw.com.
Posted on: June 28th, 2013 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
The data in the section of Root Causes of Crime in Waterloo Region titled Income of Low Income Families is no surprise to those of us who are familiar with poverty-related issues in our regional community. In fact, in Waterloo Region, 36 earners make more than $2.57M; 360 make more than $685K; 3,610 (the top 1%) make more than $396K. Individuals who make more than $81,200 are in the top 10%. On the other hand, the median income of the bottom 50% is $14,100!* In 2007, one third of employed individuals were earning $14.00/hour or less. This is poor – it may not be deep (or absolute) poverty, but it is precariously close to it.
Another point I’d like to make has to do with the title: ‘Income for Low Income Families’. I’m concerned that when we (government, media and community groups) use only the word ‘family’ or ‘children’ in our communications about poverty, we further stigmatize the ‘individual’. By leaving out the word ‘individual’ are we not practicing a type of exclusion even as we talk about and promote inclusion? Now, I know that the use of the word ‘individual’ in conjunction with poverty has greater stigma attached to it than the word ‘family’ or ‘children’ and most likely this is why many of us omit the ‘i’ word. But is this REALLY okay with you?
This brings me to the issue that is – in my opinion – the root of all root causes and needs the highest priority in order to significantly reduce and prevent poverty in the long term – this is the stigmatization of people living in poverty. Societal attitudes/values impact our political voting choices and influence policy decisions. It’s my belief that if enough of us TRULY believed that everyone was a valuable member of society, we’d have much better policies in place reflecting that belief.
Since 2007, as resources allow, Opportunities Waterloo Region has been working on an initiative to shift societal attitudes towards people living in poverty. As a result of the early work completed by partners from across Canada, a three-phase strategy was developed. The three steps are:
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research deep-seated attitudes of Canadians towards people living in poverty,
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research best practices, and
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develop a comprehensive, long-term multi-faceted approach to shift these attitudes.
The research step is critical. We think we know what the attitudes are, but these might be ones that are only visible on the surface. We need to know what the deep-seated societal attitudes are and how (or if) they connect to one another, so that we can create an effective communications strategy. Lofty goal? Big job? You bet!
This project stalled because we could not find the research dollars to begin the first step. Then in 2011, as a result of Opportunities Waterloo Region’s long-term partnership with Dr. Terry Mitchell, Associate Professor, Psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University, we were able to begin a project to research deep-seated societal attitudes towards people living in poverty. Some of the data collected over the two years was analyzed, the results of which was presented at the May 28th Community Conversations Series event. You can view the presentation here. The findings were discussed and ideas for next steps considered. A fact sheet is currently being developed and will be share in our September newsletter.
If you’d like a copy of the fact sheet or further information about the research project, please let me know. Although we don’t have all the answers yet, progress has been made, various strategies to shift attitudes are being discussed, and we are having deeper conversations about these attitudes – all very important early steps.
The research will continue in 2013-2014. Stay tuned for updates as they develop by reading about this project on our website.
*Data analysis by Ernie Ginsler using Statistics Canada Data, 2010.
Author: Since 2004, Mary MacKeigan has been the Executive Director of Opportunities Waterloo Region, a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and reduction of poverty. She has more than 20 years of experience in the field of poverty prevention, reduction and alleviation.
